Cappabue’s viral heroes honoured in recycling awards

SCHOOL may be out for the moment, but that hasn’t stopped the talented students of Cappabue National School from making the news.

Not only have they officially released their viral rap song ‘One Small Change’ across all digital platforms, but they were also announced as one of 10 global winners in the 2020 Global Recycling Day #RecyclingHeroes competition. The school will now pick up $1,000 for their efforts to combat climate change.

Speaking to The Southern Star, principal of the two-teacher school near Kealkil, Norma Healy  said the pupils are absolutely delighted with this award.

‘What is great is that someone nominated us for this award and we had no idea who that was. What is also great, too, is that  these awards are in their inaugural year and we’re the first ever Irish winner and the only European country in the Top 10,’ said Norma.

‘We really appreciate the person who did nominate us and we only got official notice from the organisers two weeks ago about our win. We definitely plan to get two new ipads with the money we have won from this. It’s a pity that schools are closed, but we’ve told all our students the great news.’

The #RecyclingHeroes competition, which was launched in February, encouraged people from across the globe to nominate individuals, businesses or communities that set examples and pushed boundaries with their recycling initiatives.

The school’s rap video ‘One Small Change’ went viral in recent months and with the help of Gary McCarthy of GMC Beats and past pupils who helped make the video, they decided to release the song as a single.

‘Our single is now available to download on any music platform you want, so we will see how it goes down with the public,’ said Norma.

They school were also junior finalists in this year’s Fresh Film Festival which was due to take place in Limerick  last month, but had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis.

‘So organisers have instead made all the films available on YouTube and there’s a facility to click on your favourite movie,’ added Norma.

The single ‘One Small Change’ is currently on release on all digital platforms.